Tin opener



Patented Aug. 4, 1925.

UNITED STATES laisser Parser arriere..

CARI DECKER, 01E' SOLINGEN, GERMANY,\.ASSIGNOR TO WALTER STOCK, OF SOLINGEN,

GERMANY.

TIN OPENER.

Application ledJuIy 16, 1924. Serial No. 723,343.

To all iol/0m it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL DECKER, a citizen of the German Empire, and residing at Solingen, Rhenish Prussia, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tin Openers, for which I have filed an application for Letters Patent in Germany, lon November 5, 1923., and of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a tin opener which consists of a handle or lever provided with an abutment for rolling along the edge of the tin and of a member for carrying and drawing the cutter or knife which member is pivotally mounted on the handle.

Such tin openers arewell known per se. The novelty of the invention substantially consists in the cutter carrying member being so formed that the cutter can be secured both in a position at right angles to the plane in which the handle is turned to and fro and also in a position parallel to said plane. In this manner the advantage is obtained that not only can the tins be opened as hitherto f by cutting ofil the top or cover by means of al cut passing along the inner side of the rim of the tin but also that it is possible to open them by means of a cut passing below the rim so that the cover as well as the rim of the tin is separated from the tin. The latter method of opening tins is of special value in the case of four cornered tins which could not be opened by means of the well known tin openers of the kind mentioned above.

The drawing illustrates by way of eX- ample one embodiment of a tin-opener according to the present invention. In said drawing zi Fig. l is a plan of the tin-opener the cutter being in its position for opening round tins.

Fig. 2 a side elevation of the tin-opener, and

Fig. 3 a section on the line 3 3 Fig. l.

Fig. 4; is a plan of the tin-opener the cutter being in position for opening four-cor nered tins, and

Fig. 5 is another side elevation of the tinopener.

The tin-opener illustrated in the drawing consists as is well known per se, of a handle or lever a pressed out of sheet metal for eX- ample. One end of this handle is forked and contains a pivot-pin b. On this pivot pin 7J there is mounted between the two shanks al, a2 of the forked end of the handle an abutment c which is'in the forinof a roller and which is firmly connected by means of a rivet m with the lower shank a2 sothat it is not ablel to rotate on the latter. The abutment c is, as is well known per se, toothed at the effective part of its circumference. Between the abutment c and the upper shank @l of the forked end of the handle there is arranged a fiat member l for carrying and drawing the cutter which member can rotate freely about the pivot-pin This member (Z may be stamped out of shes' metal of suitable thickness as is also well known. It serves as a carrier for the cutter f which is arranged as usual on that side of the member Z which faces the abutment c. The cutter possesses a screw-threaded haft g which passes through an opening in the member Z and on which there is sere' `e-C a knob-shaped nut 7L.

According to the present invention the part carrying the cutter or the free end of the member CZ is provided with a lateral extension all which is bent down at right angles to the plane of the said flat member. The member d and its extension Z1 are'provided moreover with a continuous transverse slot z' through which passes the threaded haft g of the cutter f so that the latter. after the nut has been loosened can be moved from one end of the slot z' to the other and can there be secured again in position by tightening the nut. When the cutter f is at that end (see Figs. l-3) of the slot which is situated in the member (l, it is at right angles to the plane of oscillation of the handle a and in this case the tin opener, as shown in Fig. l, is adapted to cut out the top or lid of a round tin by means of a cut e running round the inner side of the rim y of the tin. For this purpose the handle i is turned in the usual manner to and fro in the direction of the arrow' shown in Fig. l, the abutment c rolling at the rim of the tin and thus drags ging behind it the member d with the cutter f, the member UZ during this action resting upon the top of the rim y of the tin. When the cutter f is at the other end (Figs. l and 5) of the slot it is situated parallel to the plane of oscillation of the hand lever a. The tin opener can then be utilized as shown in Fig. l, to open an angular tin x1 by means of a cut passing below the rim 3/1 of the tin. The mode of manipulation is in this case the FII same as that eniployedin Yopening round tins.

In order that the cutter f may .remain perfectly. stationary relatively to the. member d in each position in which it islset, that is, in order that it may not be able'to rotate about the axis of the threaded haft g,

4the member d and its extensions Z1 are pro` In particular, instead ofitthetransversefslot z' which extends across Athe member Z and its extension (Z1,- aseparate hole for the vpassage therethrough of the threadedhaft g of the cutter f might "be provided in the member Zand-in the extension all. `In this case the nut 7i must of course be completely unscrevved When'the position of the cutter is to be changed.

Claims:

l. In a can opener'ofthe'type set forth, in combination with a handle, a can circumference engagingmember normally secured on said handle against relative displacement, a drag member `pivoted to said handle, and a cutter mounted on said drag member for selective relative displacement for side and top operationrespectively.

2. In a can opener of the type Vset forth, in combination with aihandle, 'a can engaging member normally secured on said handle against relative displacement, a drag member pivoted to said handle, a cutter mounted on said dragmember, and thelatter allowing said cutter to selectively assume either of two operative positions relatively disposed at an angle of 90 degrees.

3. In a can opener of the type set forth, in combination'with a handle, a vcan engag ing friction member mounted on said handle, a drag member pivoted to said handle, la cutter, andmeans for selectively:positioning -sa-id cutter on said drag member in a plane parallel to the plane of reciprocation `of said handle or reetangularly thereto.

4. Ina can opener of the type set forth, in combination with a handle, a friction member fixed thereto, an angular drag member pivoted to said handle, and a cutter adapted to be selectively mounted on either irvall of' said angular drag member.

5. In a can opener of the type set forth, in combination with a handle, a friction member iixedthereto, a drag member pivot- ,ed to saidhandle, comprising a body portion and-a rectangularly bent-olf portion, a cutter, and means for `selectively mountingr said cutter on either portion of said drag member.

6. :In a can opener of the type set forth, in combination with a handle, Aa friction member 'iixeditheretm a dragincmber pivoted to said handle, comprising' a body portion and la sidev 4flap integrally extending downwardly therefrom atright angles, said drag memberipresenting a longitudinal correspondingly angular slot, a cutter adapted Vfor displacement Within sai-d slot'along the major axis of the latter, and means for fixing said cutter in the adjusted relative position.

V7. `In a can opener of the type set forth,

in combination with a handle, a friction member fixed thereto, an angle drag member pivoted to said handle and presenting a longitudinal slot extending overboth angle portions, a cutter adapted for longitudinal displacement along said slot, means for fifiing said cutter in the adjusted relative position, comprising a shank axially extending from the rear of said cutter and designed for extension through, and guidance in, said drag member slot, clamping means cooper-` ating With sai-d cutter shank for locking the cutter to said drag member,and means for preventing relative rotary displacement of said cutter when in locked operativevposi tion.

Intestimony'whereof I aiix my signature.

CARL DECKER. 

